The other day I noticed the name that shows when I call my wife on her phone had “ICE” in it. Since that isn’t one of my nicknames, I had to investigate further. I found out my wife had heard something that you need to set an “In Case of Emergency” or ICE contact so if she is in an accident, they know who to call.

Great idea!

Unfortunately, since she has a passcode set up, nobody can get to her contact list unless they know the code.

There are “ICE” apps you can download so this information appears on the lock screen, BUT you don’t need to do worry about that. Back in iOS 8 Apple made it very easy for you to set up your iPhone Emergency Contact and doesn’t require and random nicknaming…

Here’s what you do:

  1. Open your Contacts and tap the “My Card” at the top of the list:
    contacts_top
  2. Click “Edit” in the upper right
  3. Then at the bottom of your record, click the “Edit Medical ID” button:
    edit_medical_id
  4. Here you can determine things like:
    • Show When Locked – set this to “Yes”. If someone tries to unlock your phone, they will see an “Emergency” link at the bottom that will then display all the information you enable.
    • Next, input any Medical Conditions, Medical Notes, Allergies & Reactions or Medications
    • Then, add an emergency contact (someone already in your contact list)
    • And finally, you can then add blood type, organ donor status, weight and height
  5. Click “Done” in the upper right

That’s it! Now on your lock screen, click the “Emergency” link at the bottom, then click the “Medical ID” link and you’ll see what an emergency service provider would see if they have access to your phone:

emergency_contact_iphone

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With over a decade of experience, I have managed online marketing for a wide range of industries including biotech, high-tech, financial, higher education, non-profit, manufacturing, hardware providers, and startups. My specialty is helping business make the right turn with their online efforts focusing on lead generation and analytics.

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